A journal of our world wide adventures. Serving, loving and glorifying God.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Ability Camp update!

Ability Camp update!

Day 1:

We were so excited to start! We got to the baby home early and eagerly waited for the 4 little ones. We played with other littles while we waited and that helped pass the time!

They arrived just before 10am. We took them straight upstairs to get to know each other. Lily coloured, Dinah played with paper (she loves ripping it!), Jasmine danced with Andrew and Cedar practised sitting up straight with me. Time passed quickly as Andrew and I stumbled through the day. We did laps, doled out lots of cuddles, laughed a lot and learned even more.

Jasmine:

We discovered that Jasmine will walk and dance when she hears music. Its a big motivation for her, so we will use that a lot!

Cedar:

We found out that Cedar is not motivated to sit or walk at all, except through water, cuddles and tickles. He is also an adorable little guy, so easy to love.

Dinah:

Dinah is a sweet little girl. She giggles at really random times and Edolbina is a pro at getting her to laugh already. Dinah also had a good laugh when Jasmine was whining!

Lily:

Lily is just the cutest little girl. She is liberal with her smiles and loves to make people laugh. She beams when she is walking, or when she uses the toilet. She is so proud of herself! We ended the day (after a nap for 3 of them) with water time! Oh boy, that was a hit! Lily would watch me pour water on someones head, then she would slowly copy me. It was adorable! The car came to get them at 5. We went home exhausted, but so thrilled at our day!

Nap time:

Day 2: It had been raining for 24 hours. The outdoor space that we were using is completely flooded, the school girls are home (so we can't use their apartment) and the landlord has allowed some random women to move into the other space we rent (on the 4th floor!) so we almost called off Ability Camp. We quickly brainstormed and realized there is a back room that is mostly not used. We decided to do it. We light a couple of tiny candles and ability camp is back on! We didn't have power for most of the day (humid!!!!) so we were sweating buckets. And sometimes you couldn't tell if it was a cockroach in the corner or a hairball, but it was a calm and successful day! The kids are getting used to us, resisting less than they did on day 1, which is great! We are learning the best ways to challenge and encourage them. Jasmine is whiny today, not wanting to do her walking. We remember the music, turn that on and she is a changed girl! We bought Lily a Dora movie, she is thrilled! She watches that while Andrew and I trade off with the other 3. We are interrupted by the other children(that live in the baby house) almost constantly (and one persistent ayah) but we don't mind so much, Lily especially loves the babies. We are pros at cuddling now, and making the 4 littles laugh between exercise. This also seems important. Work hard, but cuddle lots! Lily is a pro at using the toilet, beaming after each time. She laughs hard when we do a puzzle together, teasing me along the way. Cedar is tired today, getting him to stand is challenging, but Andrew is getting used to that, he is patient and persistent and Cedar does some standing (yay!) The kids get picked up at 5:30 (a bit late!) and we are exhausted. It has been a long, good, hard day.

Look at Dinah's rockstar posture!

Lily loves being mischevious! Like closing the door on my face!

Day 3: Lily is so excited when she arrives today. She is really starting to blossom (I thought she already was, she is such an amazing girl!) and her personality is amazing! Although its not raining, we decide to spend the morning in the back room, as we have stored most of our stuff back there. We spend the first 3 hours rotating between the 4 of them. By lunch, we are all exhausted. It seems that the most work gets done in the morning! The kids have all walked a lot and deserve a break. Lily and I do puzzles, until I put on some music, then she insists on dancing! It is the cutest thing, her bopping along, a huge smile on her face. Sometimes she is laughing so hard, she can't stand! Jasmine is immediately at peace when we turn on the music, laughing and smiling. Cedar is not motivated today. Andrew spends over an hour with him, sitting and attempting to stand. He whines sometimes, but eventually allows us to help him. Dinah is so happy today. She is standing for longer and not whining about it. She looks so proud when she takes steps, we can tell that she really wants to walk!!!

Smiley Lily!

Yes, Jasmine is sitting on poor Dinah. I have no idea why she does this, but she often sits on the nearest person!

I love cuddles!

We eat lunch, then, after a quick nap, head upstairs for water time! Cedar isn't too thrilled at first (we had to wake him up from his nap) but then decided he loves it! After 30 mins, we dry them off and all 4 of them fall asleep on the bed! The car comes a bit early today (at 4) so we give cuddles, kisses and "I love you"s and they are off. Every day flies by and we are loving this!!